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Positives and Negatives!

The Reds are back to winning ways after making hard work of beating Wolves consequently to dominating the game for the first 45 minutes (and it’s not the first time we’ve seen this). Wolves presented themselves with a 4-5-1 set-up which Mick McCarthy thought better to change to a 4-4-2 and substitute 2 players for the second half: and they gave us a run for our money, keeping us on edge notwithstanding the fact that we had half a dozen chances to put the game to bed after they pulled one back.

Positives!

Kelly is back fulltime at right back so that is one headache less. Carroll is getting better and better and his work rate is increasing dramatically. For the first time, the Reds finally gave up on the long pass looking for the lanky striker and instead made him play the Liverpool way. Yes, there were some long passes, but these were not the predominant feature as in other games. Carroll showed he can move, he can create spaces and he can provide assists, apart from having a crack or two at goal. Definite improvement! Steven Gerrard: say no more! Ten minutes of refreshment, one minute to relieve pressure on a suffering Liverpool side! The driving force behind Liverpool Football Club is back! Final major positive, three points in the bag and back to winning ways.

Negatives!

This is not an attempt to have a go at him, but Henderson? Evanescent! Not only was he out of the game I felt he never even made an attempt to get into it! His substitution was very belated. Carra and Skrtel seemed to have a shaky day at the office with some very dodgy defending, and we were lucky not to concede more than one. Agger was desperately missed. Relieved!
Just before Suarez was taken off I was thinking to myself, ‘Where would the Reds be without this guy?’, and punctually, he was replaced by Gerrard. The Uruguayan attacker was outraged and I must say I think he had every reason to be as he was without a shadow of a doubt a poisoned thorn in Wolves’ defense and a constant threat! So the question is, why take off Suarez? Controversial!
Now for a consideration dwelling on the negative! Why do we persist in substituting players only after the 70th minute (or thereabouts)? Do Liverpool only know how to play 4-4-2? If Wolves are able to re-adjust their play half-way through a game, can we? Food for thought!

What a load of bull#hit like taking him off for 10 minutes is saving him for another day. Get a grip will you its Kenny trying to justify playing his new donkeys. Same as Henderson this guy is a total dud. Does he ever pass the ball forward? Why does Kenny continue to start him? Its becoming obvious hes just playinghhim to justify his price tag in the hope that he might eventually pull off an assist or a goal and then laud him as an absolute champion in the making. Give me a break im getting fed up with KD’s starting line ups and it will come a time when it starts costing us points. Get the rubbish off and play the best players on form ..eg. Kuyt , Bellamy , Spearing and Maxi instead of the new DEADWOOD that is Henderson and ADAM. YNWA i know im gonna get slagged for this but remember nobody is bigger than the club not even Kenny. He needs to start making the right decisions in regards to starting line ups, substitutions and formations and simply its not happening

One more thing – I totally agree on Hendo. He looks lost on the right and I don’t know why we bother playing him over Maxi or Kuyt in the 4-4-2. I love how Jordan looks as the CAM in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 but on the right he completely disappears.

YOu think Kenny is trying to get Suarez and CArroll to gel with a 4-4-2 before we start playing the big teams and that’s why he wants to go ahead with a 442? As far as the substitution goes, I totally agree, Carroll should have been taken off but maybe just maybe Kenny is trying to get Carroll more minutes possibly with Steven Gerrard. I was hoping that Suarez would stay on but maybe Kenny gambled.

Henderson played? Okay, a cliched joke, but I can’t remember a single thing he did. I get that Suarez didn’t want to come off but kicking a water bottler, sulking for the next 10 or so minutes, and then making a beeline for the dressing room was odd. You scored the winning goal!? This guy needs to stay happy and focused or we are in trouble.

No he needs to make it clear that Kenny needs to take off the players that arent performing in the match instead of the preconcieved plan that he or he needs to be rested. Adam was a no show again, and so was Hendo but they continually start week in week out..its becoming a joke

luis furastration are not getting any better. Why take the man of the show out when the blows start to hit back, i dont realy knw but i heard those two spanish clubs are after him. Gerrad should have come in for adam, bellamy for carrol and kuyt should start. 2nd half we were lucky nt.

he have many opportunities to score more goals than two. Carroll made his best match: hard worker, sharp and team spirit. This guy only needs our faith in him, and our love. Today, he was bold, really visible improvment. Suarez, Downing, and Lucas could have done us a confortable lead.

We failed in not killing the match… Wolves are a team which play attractive football (far from Stoke destructive strategy). And it’s like that in football: when you don’t kkill the match you give your opponent the reasons to believe.

Hendo made a poor match, poorest than our defense performance (which was almost scarry). I was not his match, he’s in a big club now, with pressureand has to learn to give more.

Suarez is going to be a Liverpool legend. He just wants to play. At times it seemed, like was just about the only one out there. Definitely not the one to take off.

Suarez is killing other teams. The rest of the team needs to give him some help.

Maybe if we had a couple of wingers who could really cross the ball, Carroll would start to dominate in the 6 yard box. We are still trying to shoot from long range and instead of being screamers they are howlers.

We need a younger central defender, if you can read between the lines.

Alright waste more millions on assists for 35m as if 40m on henderson and downing is not enough, I don’t think so. I say stop using him and start using those that can score whether through assists or by themselves and buy winger that can score goal unlike downing that can’t.

Liverpool fans are starting to get on my tits a bit here.
In football other teams are not going to lay down and let us walk all over them. We played good team play here.

Suarez had done his job and was taken off so Gerard could sure up the midfield and keep us in front. He should put his dummy back in and get on with it! like a professional!

Andy Carrol was a good pain the ass for Wolves in midfield and heading balls out of our box (which people seem to have missed) plus he hit the post with a brilliant header! so at which point did he play bad?

Lucas was brilliant IMHO some of his breaking up and making the other team lose momentum was amazing (people don’t see that either).
Gerard looked sharp! and to me ready to take anything on!

Overall a wicked team performance against a strong EPL team.
So why oh why are people asking for KK head and slagging off players that in my eyes did well. If they can do better, then why are they not playing or managing a football team.

Start getting behind the team people, this is not FIFA!! human beings or out there playing these games and mistakes happen or are caused by the opposition!

Well as far as I am concerned from what I saw the second half was balanced and we ran the risk of conceeding a second on numerous occasions, hence, Suarez who remained our most dangerous option and who still had steam to unleash should not have come off. For me it was a bad move. There were other options to look at! It was vital to keep pressing for a third goal to put the game to bed and to relieve pressure off our defence that seemed very shaky especially in the centre back positions.
I am just no able to be other than objective, hence the positives and negatives. This IS a works in progress and therefore there need to be adjustments. Now if you are such a positive person and see everything under a positive light, good luck to you! :-)

We won! and I’m not having a go at your post, you have a valid point which makes sense, I agree maybe the sub was a bit of a wrong decision! but Gerard is a venomous player! maybe Adam should have come off instead I don’t know! The thing that got me was how Suarez spat his dummy out!
I’m just a bit annoyed that even though we won and have three points in the bag people are still calling for KK head and slag Lucas & Carrol off even though they both did good shifts!

Amen. Whoever calls for Kenny’s head is nuts, whoever slags Lucas knows nothing of football, and whoever criticises Carroll is impatient. Carroll’s game has been modified on the field and it bearing it’s fruits, plus his workrate is on the increase game by game. Suarez has a hunger for the game which we must make the most of. He never stops running, he never stops running opposition players down. He is a constant menace! :-)

BTW, non of the replies on this post are the same as FB for instance, people make sense on here! SO Amen to that! maybe I should come here first for reactions on the match, rather than looking at the social networks :-) YNWA

On the way back from the game as we speak. Why the negativity about anything? We got the 3 points? Yes defensively we were shakey but we are fresh off the back of a 4-0 hammering to spurs- there’s going to be anxiety! Plus, Kelly is still gaining fitness and was up against one of the premier leagues fasting rising stars Matt Jarvis. Jarvis had a great game. As for Luis reaction to be substituted? Its what Kenny wants, that passion, hunger, drive and determination to continue playing. K.K will nuture that and utilize it to Liverpools gain. YNWA

On Liverpool.tv before the game they were saying how good Spurs were against us. I say how good WE MADE THEM LOOK. We are all happy for the result but I feel we have the potential to kill such opposition hands down…..if we utilise what we have correctly that is! Just an opinion……….

good article… the centre back pairing of skrtel and carra are not top 4 standard. we need a ball playing rock back there come january.
as for hendo I understand why kenny is persisting with him but he has had enough chances and should be on the pine come next game..(dont understand how he could be ahead of kuyt and even maxi at this point)
was very happy with andy’s workrate. its only a matter of time before he starts banging them in.
i personally would’ve loved to see stevie replace adam and bellamy come on for downing in the final stages and watch them cause havoc!
we did it harder than i would like but overall a good win by the lads. bring on the derby!! YNWA

What dont you guys get it is not the back pairing that is the problem. It is our midfield setup. Our opponents are walking straight through our midfield as their is no midfield pressure. Both Adam and Henderson are not accountable and Adam is too slow. Our opponents are having a free stroll through the middle with only Lucas putting in a shift. If our defence is getting bombarded with balls inside what do you expect them to do? It doesnt matter who is in defence when the ball comes in so many times the defence is going to look weary and rattled. The fact is Kenny has to dump his 2 DEADWOOD purchases in Adam and Carrol and replace them with Kuyt, Bellamy for Hederson and Gerrard , Spearing for Adam. Those two purchases are a complete waste of money. Everyone can see it but Kenny and someone has to be man enough to step up and have a good hard word with him. Remember NOBODY is bigger than the club

I like this assessment! Because you never lambasted any of Liverpool players! You assessed them on their performance for this game unlike quite a few so called Liverpool supporters on other sites!

I like Henderson and think eventually he’ll be an outstanding player for Liverpool. Still only 21 and such a great passer. Okay he’s not ripped up any tree’s but in truth has Downing? A 27 year old full international. No not really however when thney settle I think both will be fine.

Just one point really! How about starting the games with Kuyt on the right and then using Henderson as a sub until he’s fully acclimatised.

Thats the only thing people are asking…Why have Kuyt on the bench and start with Hendo. Its clear hes not cutting it at the top. Quite simply hes not ready yet and should be coming on as a sub. That is what is clear to everyone but why is it not so with Kenny. How Henderson keeps starting ahead of Kuyt or Bellamy out wide is beyond belief.

Not an expert so I leave the sub decisions to KK even though I never expected Suarez to be sub. He could still have scored with Gerard and Caroll assists and we need to try that instead of 2nd time taking him off when Gerard comes on. However the central defence is very weak and they panic too much. I think its time to bring on Coates and let him get the experience otherwise he will never get used to the EPL. Skertel makes too many bad tackles. Once Coates gets his confidence he will be excellent.

You really do not have to be an expert to realise when a Manager does not get a decision right! It’s there for all to see! I am sure Kenny & Co had their reasons to bring off Suarez but with the run of play and with a 1 goal lead in a game were our opponents were almost sharing play with us, many, including myself, would have kept a still vibrant and extremely dangerous Suarez on the park.
Skrtel is a solid defender but he has no real class, does not know how to come out with the ball and his passing (unless sideways) is very substandard. Agger was sorely missed today and Coates will be a much better player than the slovakian.

Good team performance and vital win. However, i still believe Kenny is losing the plot. Anyone who can read between the lines will see the subtle move by the manager to play more british players. Henderson is crap, and to think that Aquilani, Meireless, and lately Kuyt were sacrificed so that KK’s signing can flourish. Adam is too slow, doesn’t mark, and gives possession away too much. As for Carra, he has been a good servant for LFC, but am afraid his time is up..Coates should be introduced gradually into the team. Maxi, spearing, and Bellamy surely are better players than those who started in their places today

I can understand how people are saying Carrol had a better game, but he really doesnt bring the best out of our players. Against better opposition Carrol is useless, too much time on the ball, bad touch and not great positionally. Bellamy should be starting, we would have mauled wolves today with more pace in the side. bellamy, saurez, kuyt, gerrard and downing and Lucas holding is out best use of our players. Henderson not good enough at present. Good result but made a real meal of it, we have united visiting in 3 weeks and we really need to be better. However, Carrol could be better when gerrard is fit as even today you could see we were breaking quicker and with more purpose. YNWA

3 points. Today was always going to be a nervy affair after our drubbing last week. A good result against efc will set us up in time for the mancs. The biggest plus today? 2 of them to be fair. Carroll’s improving form and the return of arguably the club’s greatest ever player. The negatives? A sluggish midfield and a non-participating Bellamy.
Confiden.ce

The midfield is just crap. From having a strong midfield to choose from it has become our liability. Teams are just strolling through our midfield as players such as Henderson and Adam have no accountability. Those two are woeful and the problem needs to be addressed as soon as possible or else consider top 4 to be a distant dream.

The problem with Henderson: I am unsure if he is a man or woman. He is built like a woman, behaves like a woman, runs as if he wears a skirt, waves his hands like a woman and nags his team mates like a woman. He is incredibly lazy and should not be playing in a man’s league.

Brilliant article! I agree with everything said and many of the comments, such as the 4 4 2 theory.
I DO think that Carroll played really well apart from the last minute chance he had. He showed great close control but failed to pull the trigger and leave us 3-1 up. Also, I remember a great cross field pass from him. We are slowly.getting better and I look forward to next week!

Suarez will eventually leave Liverpool if we play the way we played today (if not by January), Carroll getting better, Henderson will get better sooner or latter, we have to buy players if we want to finish 4th, January is decisive, we need two defenders, two forwards and one amazing Gerard. I still do miss Rafa and I do compare the existing team with the team which finished second. We played Wolves a very average team and our football wasn’t attractive and it was unbalanced can someone please explain why?!

A narrow win after two successive defeat from a club that spend that much of money on one of the best club in europe, totally unacceptable. While is henderson and adam playing and the likes of maxi, spearing, bellamyand kuyt are not, while letting meireless go, while spending 35m, 20m on average players are the question we need to start asking ourselves before we are drag into deep shit.

Guys, when Stevie G is back in full force either Hendo or Adam will have to make way. There is a very remote possibility that Lucas will make way for SG. He is too precious not to be in the starting eleven.

Its not the point .. the point everyone is trying to make is why they are still starting ahead of others. What have they shown? These decisions drove Meireles out and its these decisions that will drive others out too that are not given a fair run.

Lucas was equally great. A win no matter how bad a team performed amounts to 3 points. Only concern is that KD realises that his british options are not at the time performing better than others in the side. I understands he plays them for the men in black who always show bettert respect to british players but certainly Kenny’s selection criteria at the moment is flawed.

Have to say i think we are playing good football week in week out, we just need to kill teams off early. Look at the players who did not start, Gerrard, Agger, Johnson, Kuyt, Coates, Bellamy, Aurelio etc etc, we have real quality across the squad. Henderson is a CM player not a wideman, Skertl and Carra cannot play together as you need a CB to bring the ball out, like Agger or Coates (when ready).

Really apart from Spurs, we have looked very good. We can play different systems and change mid/game if necessary, Suarez, Bellamy, Carroll, Kuyt and Maxi are excellent going forward. Downing is quality on the wing……..no reason to be unhappy!!!

oh give henderson a break, e is still very young lad with huge potential, and don’t question king kenny if he starts in stead of kuyt, i mean he started against wolves not against manure or shitty, when we will be playing those stronger teams kenny will almost certanly put kuyt in the staring eleven, but against wolves… hendo needs games to develope so trust him and king kenny that he can deliver, remember lucas few seasons ago

My feeling on this is that every player needs to give his shift. Henderson has been ineffective on many occasions. It could be he is not comfortable in his current position. People that take decisions are always question even if the person is Kenny Dalglish. We all want whats best for the Club and as Kenny himself says now and again, ‘No one is bigger that Liverpool FC!’. obviously that applies to him as well. Your reasoning on Hendo could apply to Coates. So why play Hendo and leave the talented cb on the bench?

All players should be in the team on merit. If you name players just because of favourtism then that takes away the drive for competition for places. Kenny needs to realise this. To say that Kuyt will come in in the big matches is just wrong. These are the games we should be using to gel the team together and that means starting our best 11. You cant say that Henderson hasnt been given enough time and chances to cement his place. Fact is hes been non existant and innefective and its time to start playing him as a sub when the game is fairly safe.

And your point being? in these 6 games its become quite obvious who should be starting and who should be sitting on the pine. Im not having a dig at Kenny cuase he has lifted this team a great deal since he took over. However if Hodgson was still in charge and he spent that amount of money on these players and they performed as they have im sure we would have been calling for his head by now. I agree to the theory in Kenny we trust …but NOT blindly. No one is bigger than the club not even KD

i forget to mention earlier, henderson will almost certanly make a way for stevie g in starting eleven,
and i believe one of the reasons hendo is starting and that leaving kuyt on the bench, is that king kenny prefers using kuyt as a striker (from what i noticed since january)

We won. So I am happy. Andy stayed because he helps out defensively. Gerrard needs to play to get back to fitness, maybe Adam should’ve gone out, but its only ten minutes so it really should not matter much. I am sure Kenny has a plan, maybe as someone mentioned he is giving them playing time when we play a “mid-table team”, and leaving the good ones for harder games and the Carling cup since its our real hope for silver ware this season. I do think he has a plan, he does not appear to be stupid or naive or outdated as some claim. I wouldn’t go to the point of calling him off or names just yet, so i don’t regret it later… worse managers with no record were given more chance, lets be patient and keep our enthusiasm and passion tamed for now…